7:19a

So In Greek, 7:19a begins with a common conjunction that is often translated as “and.” The Berean Standard Bible and several other English versions translate this conjunction as “so” to indicate that John sent his disciples to Jesus in response to what he had heard about him. Other English versions do not translate this conjunction. Connect 7:18b to 7:18a in a way that is natural in your language.

John called two of his disciples and sent them to ask the Lord: The phrase that the Berean Standard Bible translates as sent them to ask the Lord is literally “sent them to the Lord, saying.” The Berean Standard Bible is stating the implied purpose for which John sent his disciples to Jesus. Another way to translate this is:

sent them to the Lord to ask him (Good News Translation, New Living Translation (2004))

the Lord:
The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as Lord means “master” or “one who has authority over others.” In this context the Lord is a title for Jesus. Some other ways to translate this are:

the Master
-or-
the Chief

In some languages it may be necessary to add his name here. For example:

the Lord Jesus
-or-
Jesus, the Master

In other languages it may be necessary to indicate whose Lord is referred to. If that is true in your language, if you use the pronoun “our,” it should be the inclusive form, if your language uses that form. For example:

our(incl) Lord

See Lord, Context 2, in the Glossary.

7:19b

Are You: The word You is emphatic here. If you have a way in your language to emphasize You, consider using it here.

the One who was to come: The phrase the One who was to come is literally “the coming one.” It is a title that refers to the Messiah. The Old Testament prophets had said that the Messiah would come. John the Baptizer was also a prophet who said that the Messiah would come. But he was not sure at this time that Jesus was the Messiah.

Some other ways to translate this include:

the Coming One
-or-
the Expected One (New American Standard Bible)
-or-
the ⌊person/savior⌋ whom ⌊God⌋ promised ⌊to send⌋ to us
-or-
the Messiah we’ve been expecting (New Living Translation (2004))

If you use a literal translation such as “the Coming One” you may want to include a footnote to explain that this was a title that referred to the Messiah.

7:19c

or should we look for someone else: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as look for means “to wait for or watch for someone or something.” Here John asked whether he and the rest of the Jews should keep on waiting for the Messiah. He suggested that perhaps Jesus was not the Messiah and that they needed to wait for someone else.

we: The pronoun we probably refers to all the Jews, including John and his disciples. Use an appropriate form in your language for this context.

General Comment on 7:19a–c

In some languages it may be natural to use indirect speech for the message that John’s disciples were to give to Jesus. For example:

He sent them to ask the Lord if he was the one who was to come or if they should expect someone else.

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